Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters – Pakistan’s high court will conclude Thursday’s hearing about Prime Minister Imran Kan’s obstruction of opposition bid to oust it. The manoeuvre, which his critics call unconstitutional and has created political instability in the nuclear-armed country.

Khan was a cricket legend who lost his parliamentary majority and was about to be forced out of office after he submitted a motion of no confidence on Sunday.

Khan’s member, the deputy speaker of Parliament, opposed the motion. He ruled that it was part in a foreign conspiracy, and therefore unconstitutional. Khan then disbanded parliament.

The country of 220million people has been plunged into constitutional crisis. It had been ruled for extended periods by the military since its independence in 1947.

Opposition has challenged the Supreme Court’s decision to prevent the vote. The Supreme Court began deliberating on Monday. The court is scheduled to meet again on Thursday at 9:30 AM (0430 GMT).

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, said Wednesday that he wanted the hearing to be concluded.

He said, “Let’s start early tomorrow to close the case,” at the conclusion of the session during which defense lawyers had offered justifications for Khan’s actions.

Khan’s supporters claim that Khan’s attempt to remove him from power with foreign aid was illegal. That argument has been rejected by the opposition leaders.

If Khan is found guilty of violating the constitution, the court can order that parliament be reconstituted and call for new elections.

The court could decide to not intervene in the affairs of parliament.

Three times, the military intervened to take down civilian government and to rule the country. The military has denied involvement in the crisis.